Kew
Nov 11/63.
My dear Mrs Darwin
Will you kindly te⟨ll⟩ me whether I ought ⟨to⟩ write to Mr Darwin whil⟨st⟩ he is so ill—promising th⟨at⟩ my letters require no answering—1 Do you know that it is such a real pleasure to me to write to him, that I feel it a positive privation not to—
I was very glad to get his letter,2 this morning, but he must not try to write to me.
Please tell him that I ⟨ha⟩ve prepared a mere notice of ⟨the⟩ introduced plants of ⟨New⟩ Zeald: from letters of Mr Travers, for Nat Hist Review—3 would he object to my adding Haast’s notes on the introduced Animals? I see Haast says that Mr Darwin may make “any use of his communications how & when you like.”4— I should also like to read the letter to the Phil. Club.5
My wife & 2 children are still in Norfolk, & will be till end of month.6 Willy has been scoured with oil & soft soap & sent to Hastings.7 My Mother still keeps her bed, but is well recovering.8
With most sincere regards | Ever ty yrs | J D Hooker
Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4339,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on